PRADEEP KAUL, 62 NANCY KAUL, 61

Now living in Kabir Nagar, Jammu; original residents of Habba Kadal, Srinagar Fled the valley in 1990

Pradeep Kaul loves to quote William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” The past casts a long, infinite shadow over their lives and refuses to die. He still remembers the spacious house they owned in Habba Kadal in the heart of Srinagar and the vast orchards his parents owned in the outskirts of the city where they used to go and play on weekends. His father taught literature in a college and though Pradeep pursued an agricultural degree, he had mastered English romantic poetry which he would quote with ease. After he married Nancy, he got a government job in the agricultural department and the couple had two daughters.

On February 2, 1990, however, their lives changed forever. Kaul was on a tour in Uri when he heard that his brother-inlaw, Satish Tickoo, wellknown for his social work, had been shot dead at their house in Srinagar. Later, they learnt that it was Bitta Karate who was responsible. Satish’s killing sent a wave of fear among the Kashmiri Pandits. Pradeep and his family had to flee in a hurry to a tented camp in Jammu where temperatures soared to over 40 degrees Celsius. There were no toilets either.

He manages a smile at the irony and says: “We had 5,000 years of continuous culture behind us and all my knowledge of romantic poetry. And there we were, suddenly thrown into a space where we had to get up at 4 am to ease ourselves in the open.” Among the first things Pradeep did was to purchase a small piece of land and build a toilet so that not only his family but their friends in the camp too could use it. They moved out of the tenements in Mishawalli and rented a house so that their children could study. Both their daughters are now doing well for themselves. As for Pradeep and Nancy, they long to go back to Srinagar but their old houses are in ruins.

Nancy speaks little and bursts into tears whenever she thinks of the past. For Pradeep, closure means ensuring the killers of Kashmiri Pandits, including his brother-in-law, be brought to justice; also the government developing safe and secure enclaves in Srinagar where the Pandits can return. Pradeep, who collects rare manuscripts, also wants temples in the Valley to be restored. For him, the past is not even past but he is hoping for a better future.

“WE HAD 5,000 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS CULTURE BEHIND US... AND THERE WE WERE, SUDDENLY THROWN INTO A REFUGEE CAMP”